Skinny Mobile has launched Skinny Direct, an innovative new online mobile platform that will change the way people buy and use their mobile in New Zealand.

Skinny Direct is a completely new approach to mobile for New Zealand. Built from the ground up over the past 12 months, it offers customers a pure online model for sales and service. Skinny Direct aims to break the current high churn, high cost prepaid model, increasing profitability while giving customers the flexibility that they want.

Ross Parker, GM of Skinny comments, “Skinny Direct fills a gap in the market for customers who are data-loving smartphone users, want low prices and are happy to manage their mobile account online. It is a direct response to customer feedback which showed that our happiest customers are those that manage their mobile account purely online.”

Skinny’s recently developed technology stack allows the business to be highly nimble in new product development. It is this relative agility that has allowed the telco to develop Skinny Direct.

Skinny Direct is accessible via a new website and app. Customers sign up online, bring their own device, and can choose to bring their existing number. There are no top-ups, no prepaid balances, no vouchers and no standard rates. Customers will benefit from easy ‘one-click’ purchase functionality and pay by credit card.

Parker explains, “We think Skinny Direct will offer an amazing experience for customers – while significantly reducing our costs. Our online-only model means there will be no physical points of sale, no top up commissions, no device subsidies and auto-renewing plans. Everything is done simply and seamlessly online.”

“The simplicity of this model means Skinny Direct can deliver mobile data at a price previously unavailable in the NZ market.”

New Zealanders’ appetite for the internet is growing with mobile data usage increasing by 88% in the past 12 months and future projections pointing to exponential growth of mobile data usage. Skinny Direct will offer the richest combination of data, NZ minutes and text in New Zealand, including unlimited NZ calling and texting on all combos.

Combinations will include unlimited NZ voice calling (including voicemail). There will be no overage and no standard rates. Two combos will be offered: 3GB will be available for $30; and 6GB for $50. Customers will be able to purchase add-on data $10 for 1GB. These combos can only be used with a Skinny Direct SIM.

With super low prices and a no-frills approach, Skinny Direct will appeal to data-loving smartphone users, who have an existing phone and want to manage their mobile usage themselves.

In a major milestone for a business operating in the highly competitive telco market, this financial year Skinny passed 200,000 active mobile customers (based on a 30-day activity measure).